Maybe i need to explain war thunder. You ser it's fun to totally not play frontal but sneak up behind the enemy spawn and kill a lot of tanks. This is not doable with planes but if you're high in the clouds you can dive upon your enemy and kill them without them not even knowing what the hell just happened. This is also called boom and zooming.

I haven't played many big games in a while (longer story bout why below). I think the last real stealth game that really was based around stealth gameplay and was not something on the scale of a browser game was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Actually, as I'm writing this, this isn't true. I Chaos Theory was my first Splinter Cell game. A while later I got Splinter Cell 2 from a magazine's DVD. I played through that in one night. Don't remember an of the story because I could barely stay awake after that session. But the game was awesome.
Anyway, Chaos Theory was amazing. It had everything a stealth game needs for me. Atmospheric settings, relatively clever enemies who will be a massive problem face to face, meaningful mechanics and - of course - good stealth gameplay. The gadgets really added to the whole experience as did the special movement options. Even gunplay felt good, even though it obviously wasn't really an option.
Whenever I think of stealth, I think back to my time with Chaos Theory. So that has to be on my list. I'd actually say, Chaos Theory is my personal best stealth game.

Next, Tenchu. Played it on the Psone back in the day. It was fairly simple, but damn it worked. Tenchu 2 was much better from a technical standpoint and had really interesting options for you with all the items you could use, but from my memory, it first of all simply didn't stick that well (doesn't pop up in my mind as readily) and I think it was more combat based. Fighting enemies directly always was an option in 1 and in both games it was generally discouraged, but it seemed to be the intended path in many situations in Tenchu 2. The combat system was expanded, so it was doable, but I just wasn't crazy about it.

Now, the big one. Due to my personal gaming story, my gamer biography basically goes from Gameboy and NES and Super NES to the PSone and from there straight to a low power PC. SO I missed out on pretty much most of the PS2, Xbox and even N64 generation. And even during my time as a PC gamer there were very few big titles I got on release. Most of my games were free games from a magazine I had a subscription for. So games that were a bit older. I still buy games very rarely.
What I'm going at here is, my most memorable Stealth game is Metal Gear Solid - the only Metal Gear game I have ever played. This one is a really special game for me. And not necessarily because of the stealth. Let's face it, the gameplay is actually petty basic. But it works. What gripped me with this game was not amazing stealth mechanics.
I'm a sucker for games that have their own style. And the Metal Gear series, with their pathos filled, at times over-the-top stories and very memorable characters have a style that cannot be copied. I know, it's old, but I'm still not going to spoil anything here. What I felt when the credits rolled was pretty incredible. I felt like I had just watched an interactive version of a high concept B-movie that could easily get an Academy Award as well. The story was at times really awkward, but it was absolutely effective. It gripped me. When the game was over I felt like I had just finished something big and meaningful.
And the game also featured some of the most creative ideas I have ever seen. And there were countless little things that got the player involved (some hints: shoot some rats, use a handkerchief, keep the game's box, the VR missions that came on their own disc, and THAT boss fight). The game involved the player. That was probably a big aspect about why I was so engaged while playing and why I still think back to this game regularly.
This one sets the bar for me. Not for stealth games. It sets the bar for engaging games. Engaging trough creative and meaningful ideas. And it sets the bar for what I'd call cinematic games. That game was full of cutscenes and dialogue. It felt like a screenplay and that was definitely what the designers had in mind when they made the concepts for the game. But to me all this did not feel out of place. It fit the style. That unique style that makes this game so unforgettable.

EDIT: I should probably mention Hitman (Hitman 2 in my case)as well because it has another very special approach to it. Hitman levels are almost like puzzles in adventure games. Once you have figured them out, they are relatively straighforward. As long as you don' mess up. But, there are multiple ways to finish that puzzle and usually, there is not the one perfect one. All of the ones that involve the stealth aspects and lead to success are usually very elegant and make you feel so damn happy when you pull them off.
Hitman is all about very clever and believable level design with characters that use that environment and give you options to get your approach to the target. Hitman was unique in its stealth in tat you did not necessarily have to hide to avoid trouble. You just had to avoid being noticed. Blending into the environments by playing a role in it could give you much better chances to take out your target than trying to hide.

Simple example:

Target expects milk delivery.

Milk man approaches the house.

Kill (or somehow take out) the milk man and take his clothes.

Deliver milk.

Deliver death.

This makes for some very tense moments and this, combined with nicely the levels flow once you find an approach that works is what makes this game series memorable.

EPR89 wrote:I haven't played many big games in a while (longer story bout why below). I think the last real stealth game that really was based around stealth gameplay and was not something on the scale of a browser game was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Actually, as I'm writing this, this isn't true. I Chaos Theory was my first Splinter Cell game. A while later I got Splinter Cell 2 from a magazine's DVD. I played through that in one night. Don't remember an of the story because I could barely stay awake after that session. But the game was awesome.
Anyway, Chaos Theory was amazing. It had everything a stealth game needs for me. Atmospheric settings, relatively clever enemies who will be a massive problem face to face, meaningful mechanics and - of course - good stealth gameplay. The gadgets really added to the whole experience as did the special movement options. Even gunplay felt good, even though it obviously wasn't really an option.
Whenever I think of stealth, I think back to my time with Chaos Theory. So that has to be on my list. I'd actually say, Chaos Theory is my personal best stealth game.

Next, Tenchu. Played it on the Psone back in the day. It was fairly simple, but damn it worked. Tenchu 2 was much better from a technical standpoint and had really interesting options for you with all the items you could use, but from my memory, it first of all simply didn't stick that well (doesn't pop up in my mind as readily) and I think it was more combat based. Fighting enemies directly always was an option in 1 and in both games it was generally discouraged, but it seemed to be the intended path in many situations in Tenchu 2. The combat system was expanded, so it was doable, but I just wasn't crazy about it.

Now, the big one. Due to my personal gaming story, my gamer biography basically goes from Gameboy and NES and Super NES to the PSone and from there straight to a low power PC. SO I missed out on pretty much most of the PS2, Xbox and even N64 generation. And even during my time as a PC gamer there were very few big titles I got on release. Most of my games were free games from a magazine I had a subscription for. So games that were a bit older. I still buy games very rarely.
What I'm going at here is, my most memorable Stealth game is Metal Gear Solid - the only Metal Gear game I have ever played. This one is a really special game for me. And not necessarily because of the stealth. Let's face it, the gameplay is actually petty basic. But it works. What gripped me with this game was not amazing stealth mechanics.
I'm a sucker for games that have their own style. And the Metal Gear series, with their pathos filled, at times over-the-top stories and very memorable characters have a style that cannot be copied. I know, it's old, but I'm still not going to spoil anything here. What I felt when the credits rolled was pretty incredible. I felt like I had just watched an interactive version of a high concept B-movie that could easily get an Academy Award as well. The story was at times really awkward, but it was absolutely effective. It gripped me. When the game was over I felt like I had just finished something big and meaningful.
And the game also featured some of the most creative ideas I have ever seen. And there were countless little things that got the player involved (some hints: shoot some rats, use a handkerchief, keep the game's box, the VR missions that came on their own disc, and THAT boss fight). The game involved the player. That was probably a big aspect about why I was so engaged while playing and why I still think back to this game regularly.
This one sets the bar for me. Not for stealth games. It sets the bar for engaging games. Engaging trough creative and meaningful ideas. And it sets the bar for what I'd call cinematic games. That game was full of cutscenes and dialogue. It felt like a screenplay and that was definitely what the designers had in mind when they made the concepts for the game. But to me all this did not feel out of place. It fit the style. That unique style that makes this game so unforgettable.

EDIT: I should probably mention Hitman (Hitman 2 in my case)as well because it has another very special approach to it. Hitman levels are almost like puzzles in adventure games. Once you have figured them out, they are relatively straighforward. As long as you don' mess up. But, there are multiple ways to finish that puzzle and usually, there is not the one perfect one. All of the ones that involve the stealth aspects and lead to success are usually very elegant and make you feel so damn happy when you pull them off.
Hitman is all about very clever and believable level design with characters that use that environment and give you options to get your approach to the target. Hitman was unique in its stealth in tat you did not necessarily have to hide to avoid trouble. You just had to avoid being noticed. Blending into the environments by playing a role in it could give you much better chances to take out your target than trying to hide.

Simple example:

Target expects milk delivery.

Milk man approaches the house.

Kill (or somehow take out) the milk man and take his clothes.

Deliver milk.

Deliver death.

This makes for some very tense moments and this, combined with nicely the levels flow once you find an approach that works is what makes this game series memorable.

So that's my old school list.

You just made me remember the games i played as a kid.
Otto matic and snood and mia mouse (can't really remember the name of that mouse game)

im not really that much into stealth, but mark of the ninja blew me away, it delivered an atmosphere which i havent found in another game yet (in some movies though). the story is mystical and the gameplay is easily understandable and responsive. yet it builds up a lot of challenges and dangers, especially with the other mask and items. played it at least 3 times all the way but havent got all achievements yet.